The emerging community of Israeli jazz musicians in New York typically draws from a wide spectrum of influences, extending from Jewish, Middle Eastern, and North African songs to classical music. Guitarist Gilad Hekselman draws less from this exotic fare, and more from American jazz and blues.

LONDON -- "American Idol" contestants should be thankful that they have caring, sharing Ellen DeGeneres on the panel now and not Katy Perry.

Does a song exist if no one hears it - or, worse, if no one sings it? That crucial question lay below the surface of Thomas Hampson's recital of American songs Thursday at the Independence Seaport Museum. In an hour of concentrated singing, with pianist Craig Rutenburg, Hampson set out points in a huge field of song, tracing immigrant strains, native melisma, and indigenous wit.